Spencer and Rachel
by Tee-Cup
Summary: Spencer Reid grew up with a twin sister. Someone who isn't quite as brilliant as he is but tries hard all the same. She followed him to the BAU and together, they catch bad guys and have adventures. I don't own Criminal Minds.
1. Chapter 1

**Criminal Minds**

 **I don't own Criminal Minds or any related content**

 **Spencer and Rachel**

 **Chapter 1**

Spencer Reid had spent his whole life waiting for his sister to catch him up. He had been blessed with the gift of an eidetic memory and that gave him many perks, but his twin sister, Rachel had not been so fortunate. She was different from him in many ways; she was fun and popular and seemed to do everything with an air of casualness he hadn't quite mastered. If they didn't share the same name no one would guess they were related. But she seemed to follow him everywhere. He didn't mind, he loved her. They'd always been close, it had been fun to trick the kids at school into believing they could read one another's minds and when they'd turned eighteen she'd even convinced him to count cards with her in Vegas. That hadn't turned out well. But she meant a lot to him, and vice versa. As a twin, he didn't believe in telepathy or the myths that came with it. But he always felt a weird connection with her, he could always feel when something was wrong.

He sat at his desk twiddling his pen in his hand, he was bored. Nothing had happened since Elle left. It was like her and Gideon had taken all the interesting cases with them and left them to profile and send. No going out or jetting off on the plane and this didn't just make him mad. It made Rachel mad too. He supposed it might be a good thing, if they finally got something interesting then he wasn't sure he'd be able to take many hours it was of sitting on a plane next to a bouncy Rachel.

"I'm bored." She sat on the chair behind him leaning her back against his. Her bright blonde hair touching his curly brown locks.

"So you have told me many times." He drawled trying to catch Morgan's eye from across two desks, but he was too engrossed in whatever work he had.

"Stop it." She suddenly snapped up, grabbing the pen in one movement. She was clever, and fast. She stood up holding his pen in front of him. She knew fully well it was the pen he had gotten from his father when they had finally met, it meant a lot to him.

"I got your pen!" she taunted, her emerald eyes glinting with mischief. But Spencer wasn't enjoying it.

"Come on give it back." He held out his hand, she shook her head, the twinkle growing brighter. "Rachel give me back my pen." He stood, he was considerably taller than she was but she stood firm, twirling it slightly in her manicured fingers, a smile beginning to play on her lips. This meant trouble. He took a step towards her, she simultaneously took a step back; the smile grew wider. He often forgot that she knew him so well, she was just as good a profiler as he was and she'd had twenty-five years to profile him.

As he darted for her she danced back, spinning round the desk. Morgan looked up from his work, by now Rachel was jumping lightly around the desks with Reid clumsily sprinting after her.

"That girl has way too much energy." Morgan smiled to himself. Rachel twirled, right into Hotch. Hotch was the only man in the world that scared Rachel, everyone knew that she harboured a secret crush on him but he was also her mentor. Hotch was to Rachel what Gideon had been to her brother. He meant a lot to her but at the same time he completely terrified her.

The twinkle in her eyes vanished and a look of fear spread across her face. She bit her lip and threw the pen at a now beaming Spencer.

"Sorry Hotch?" she shrugged innocently, biting her lip.

"That's alright Rachel, everyone with me now." Hotch led the way and they all followed. Here was their fortress. A small room with a large screen on one wall and a round table facing toward it, sofas outlining the walls.

Everyone took their seats.

"We've been asked to profile a kidnapper in Wisconsin. He kidnapped a 10 year old boy but then returned them for a small ransom. He then kidnapped a 15 year old girl and held her for a larger ransom. I think that he'll continue to go up in age and in price. He might also be alternating in sex." JJ filled them in, clicking through the screen.

"Rapid escalation shows that he's growing in confidence." Spencer commented.

"Yeah, why are we only being called in now?" Prentiss asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Wisconsin P.D didn't think that the two kidnappings were related and they didn't want to waste resources. They were certain they could handle it themselves." JJ replied.

"But upon determining that the kidnappings are related they've realised they're out of their depth and requested us." Hotch concluded. JJ nodded. "With this rapid escalation chances are he's going to take someone else within the next twenty four hours. We can profile on the plane. Wheels up in twenty."

Half an hour later Hotch, Morgan, Rachel, Reid and Prentiss were sat around the tiny table on the plane. In the four seats around it were Hotch, Reid, Rachel and Morgan. Prentiss and JJ perched on the platform opposite.

"Where's Rossi?" Prentiss asked.

"He's on a book tour. Should meet us in Wisconsin." Hotch informed them.

"Ok, so we're probably looking for a white male, late thirties to early forties and the children claim he had brown hair. They only saw glimpses of him though." Reid started.

"He didn't sexually assault or kill them," Prentiss contributed.

"The boy only had one bruise on his arm but the girl had a black eye and quite a few bruises." Said Morgan looking serious.

"So maybe he's still trying to find out what makes him happiest, how much he needs to hurt them before he's satisfied." Added Rachel.

"Garcia's looking into large additions to bank accounts because of the ransoms." JJ said.

"With this slim of a profile it's unlikely she'll find anything." Spencer said.

"That plus he could have multiple accounts that would distribute the money evenly. Or he's just keeping the money in cash." Prentiss added.

"It's incredibly rare that a kidnapper is able to return their victims twice and still not be caught." Hotch commented as he looked over the victimology.

The pilot came on over the speaker.

"Sorry for the inconvenience but we have had a request to wait a couple more minutes for an additional member of your team to board." he crackled out.

They all looked questioningly at each other. All except Hotch.

"Rossi?" Morgan asked.

"No." Hotch looked grim. The door opened and in walked Strauss.

The flight passed in silence.

"Aren't you supposed to be profiling the un-sub?" Strauss aimed the question at Hotch.

"We already have. We have everything we can profile before seeing the crime scenes and meeting the victims. For now we're focusing on gathering our strength before we land." Hotch explained and the others shared glances, barely holding back smiles as Strauss pursed her lips and looked like she was sucking on a lemon.

…

"My name is SSA Hotchner and this is SSA Morgan, Prentiss and Reid; and Doctor Reid. SSA Rossi is also set to join us." Hotch shook hands with the Sherriff.

"And this is our boss, we don't mind if you don't like her. Neither do we." Rachel smiled to Sherriff Carlson as Strauss approached.

"Is there anywhere we can set up? We're gonna need some working space." Hotch asked.

"Sure, right o'er there." Carlson pointed to a small corner with a desk. The team thanked him and made their way over to the desk.

"Right, first I think we should all go visit the family of the fifteen year old. If they give permission I want the Reid's on either side of the house going round to meet at the back, Morgan with me and Strauss questioning the parents and Prentiss and Rossi, when he gets here, questioning the girl."

The team nodded and as if by cue Rossi entered, his dark hair slightly matted on the top of his head.

The family gave their permission for the premises to be examined by the Reid's and agreed to talk to the others.

Spencer took the right hand side, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking for but he was sure that if he saw it then he would know. He got half way up the house when he though he heard a faint squeal. He stopped. Nothing, he must have imagined it. He began reciting random facts off to himself in his head to amuse himself.

He had got to the back door and found nothing, he was supposed to meet Rachel here but she wasn't here yet. He waited five minutes before walking round to the other side. He peered round, no one was there, he sighed, and she must have gone inside without him.

But even as he continued to walk around the nagging feeling at the back of his head was tingling. The feeling that something was wrong but he couldn't place it.

He walked all the way round the house back to her side again. He noticed a small white sheet of paper pinned to the side of the house that he hadn't seen before. One word was written in blood.

 _Mine._

Spencer felt sick. He didn't need to test the blood to know it was hers.

He willed his legs to move but they wouldn't. Fear paralysed him as he wished that there was such a thing as twin telepathy, just so he could get a handle on himself and work out exactly what had happened and where she was. Morgan had trained her himself, she was athletic and fit, how had she been kidnapped at a crime scene without anyone noticing? He couldn't think clearly, he needed to tell the team.

Finally he was able to move, once he did he sprinted into the house. He found Hotch and Morgan in the living room. He suddenly found he couldn't speak, then the tears came. Silently pouring down his cheeks. He had promised his mother that he would protect her and now, she could die because he wasn't there for her. He thrust the note at Morgan and buried his face in his hands.


	2. Chapter 2

**Spencer and Rachel**

 **Chapter 2**

Morgan read through it twice before handing it to Hotch and briskly walking to Prentiss and Rossi to tell them the news. Suddenly it felt like everything was rushing around Spencer, he stayed stood there. He couldn't move, the tears never seemed to stop. The teenage girl gently led him to a chair and gave him a box of tissues whilst Morgan explained that Rachel was Spencer's sister.

Spencer took out his wallet, in the picture section was a photo of him and Rachel just a few weeks before, they looked so happy. So oblivious, that was obviously a time when they actually were getting on. He had to do something, he had to get her back. And sitting here crying about her wasn't going to do anything.

He got up and walked briskly over to the door, Morgan walked in the door as he approached and took him by the shoulders.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, man where you going?" he asked, he was just as worried as Spencer. Rachel and Morgan were very close, they worked out together and were easily best friends; next to Garcia and Morgan of course.

"I'm going back to the police station to try and start a profile. That way we can find Ray quicker. You coming?" he asked anxiously, he wanted to keep moving, keep working.

Morgan nodded and went over to inform Hotch that they were leaving.

When they arrived at the police station the Sherriff approached them looking grave. He held a white envelope in his right hand. He held it up to them,

' _ **Spencer Reid x'**_ was written on the front. He took it holding it in his hand before turning it over to open it.

Inside there were 2 papers. One was a letter, it read:

 _Dear Spencer,_

 _I am writing to inform you that I know everything about the investigation, I know everywhere that you will be and know everything that you will do. Rachel's twin telepathy helps me. She told me everything. She's special. Don't worry, I'll keep you updated._

Spencer felt his mouth go dry as he pulled out the photo. Rachel was obviously bound even though the photo just showed her face. Tear tracks ran down her face but luckily there was no blood, yet. Her long hair had been cut. It was now about chin length. It suited her, but she had still loved her long hair. He saw the pleading in her eyes, the begging for him to come to her aid. She needed him.

He felt tears pricking his eyes once more but willed himself not to cry, he felt stronger now. He thrust the photo and the letter at Morgan and went over to the tiny desk that they had been allocated.

"Hey, kid, are you alright? Maybe you should sit down or something?" Morgan rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Ok, this Un-sub is well educated by the language in the letters," Spencer said and took out his phone. He dialled and Garcia answered on the second ring. Morgan had already called her and filled her in on everything. "Garcia check the best high schools and colleges around here. Then check for students who went on to take Beauty or Hair styling." Spencer instructed without the niceties.

"Why Beauty and Hair styling?" asked Morgan.

"Because the hair cut looks clean, the un-sub knew what he was doing." Spencer was still reviewing the files and didn't bother to look up.

"Ok, there were two hundred students in a fifty mile radius that took Beauty but only fifty that took Hair Styling and only twenty-five that took both." Garcia informed them, "Getting a list of names... Now!"

The printer roared to life on the opposite side of the office and Spencer walked over to where it was. He read through the list three times, taking his time each one. Trying to see if there were any names that stood out to him, but there was nothing.

"When are the others getting back?" Spencer asked Morgan, before he could answer Hotch interrupted.

"We're right here," Hotch, Prentiss and Rossi walked in with Strauss trailing behind them looking official.

"I personally just don't see what the fuss is about," she began speaking to the whole office, who paused and turned to stare. "It's probably just a high school prank, I mean she is in High school isn't she? You've all probably hidden her in a cupboard or something to wind me up. You've always had it in for me. But this is just childish. Tell her to come out and we can get on with the real investigation. This is stupid and rude and you are all making a mockery of the F.B.I by even pretending that she has been kidnapped. I am disgusted."

The entire congregation of police officers and F.B.I agents stared at Strauss, some looked like they believed her, Morgan, Rossi and Prentiss looked hurt; Spencer and Hotch looked angry.

"You think we've made this up?" Spencer asked her, his voice quiet, soft, deadly.

She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "That is exactly what I think Mr. Reid."

"How dare you! My sister is out there in the hands of a phsyco and you are accusing me of hiding her in a cupboard!" he was shouting now, and advancing on Strauss, Hotch took a couple of steps forward, ready to stop him if he had to "She could be tortured! Or...Or Raped! Or she could..." the last word caught in his throat and suddenly the anger flushed out of him. He stood stock still, the realisation of the situation washing over him like a tsunami. "She could die."

Tears stung his eyes and he turned away in embarrassment. He strode over to the desk and picked up his jacket. He left the door followed by Hotch, Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi. Hotch got into the driving seat with Prentiss in the passenger seat, Spencer, Morgan and Rossi in the back.

"Hey, Reid. Well done back there. Strauss actually looked lost for words. And by the way, we will get there before anything that bad happens ok? She'll be fine." Prentiss congratulated him.

Morgan and Rossi smiled warmly at him.

Spencer found couldn't portray the inner pain otherwise it would make him look weak, look young. Even next to Rachel he always looked young. She somehow managed to be more mature yet more playful.

A solitary tear trickled down his cheek and he brushed it away as they arrived at the first house. Interviewing the first suspect in a list of twenty-five.

Nothing eventful came up until the 20th house. It was a grimy dump of a place and when the door opened an old man wearing a grimy vest and tracksuit bottoms opened it. He had long, shaggy, matted, dull brown hair and cold dark eyes. His fingernails were yellow and his lank hair greasy.

"Are you Andrew McPherson?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" his teeth were as yellow as his nails.

"Did you take Beauty and Hair Styling at college?" Reid didn't want to go in the house. If this was the un-sub he wouldn't be stupid enough to keep Rachel here.

"Do I look like the kinda person to take that?" he smirked, but Reid could see his point. He plucked up his courage but was intercepted by Hotch who had left him to it until now.

"May we take a look around?" he seemed so casual, did Reid look that casual? He supposed Hotch always looked normal.

"Why? What's going' on?" the man's hand moved a fraction towards his pocket and Reid's own hand inched for his gun, just in case.

"There have been serial kidnappings, these people who have been kidnapped have been held for a large ransom. And it looks like you could do with some money. So we want to look around, we do actually have a warrant, so technically you have no choice." Hotch barged past him shoving the warrant into the startled man's hand, Prentiss followed then Reid, the others followed behind.

Rossi stopped to ask the man some questions. "Have there been any odd people coming round, threatening you lately?"

"Sherriff Carlson came round, he threatened me saying that if I didn't corporate with anything then I would pay. I didn't know what the hell he was on about though! I swear!" he stuttered, looking bewildered. All signs of defence and power gone.

"Hotch," Rossi called over to the team who were working in the grimy kitchen.

"We need to question Carlson." Hotch had briefly spoken with Rossi before turning to the others. They trailed out to the car, promising to keep him informed.

"Do you think that Carlson might be a potential Un-Sub?" Morgan leant forward to ask Hotch as he drove away.

"I don't know. Let's go find out."

…

Rachel was exhausted, but she refused to let the sleep overcome her. She was sat on a hard wooden chair with her feet bound to the legs of the chair and her hands behind her.

She had been walking round, singing softly to herself when from behind a man had grabbed her, muffling her squeal of surprise with his hand, he'd hit her hard over the head and her vision had begun to blur. She was in no state to fight back, it had just given her a really bad headache.

He took a note and a pin out of his pocket, then a knife. He sliced her finger with the knife, she winced in the sudden sharp pain, he then used her finger to write on the back of the paper, tears had been filling her eyes at this point as she realised the situation. He pinned the note on the wall, pulled her up and dragged her to a car. He threw her in the boot and slammed it shut.

The journey had been so long that she fell asleep, she awoke to find herself like this. The man wore a ski-mask, he held a large pair of scissors in one hand and used the other to gently tilt her head to the sides he wanted. Directly opposite her was a large mirror, she could see everything that was happening. He cut her hair short. All with immaculate accuracy, He knew what he was doing.

Her beautiful long hair was gone, now cut short. Tear tracks streaked down her cheeks as the kidnapper took her photo.

He sat down at the desk near her chair and hurriedly wrote a note.

"Would you like to send a message to your brother?" he asked her.

"Can I tell him where I am?" she asked.

He laughed, "No, I'm afraid not."

"Then no, there's nothing."

He chuckled again before slipping the letter and the photo into an envelope.

"Catch you later," he walked out slipping off his ski-mask, revealing brown hair. But that was all she could see.

…

"Why did he cut her hair like that?" Garcia asked Morgan. She was really hung up on why.

"He's probably trying to re-create someone from his past that upset or abused him. Or maybe even someone he loved. The problem is that he changes his M-O every time he kidnaps someone." Morgan explained trying to help her keep up. At that moment Reid walked in looking stressed. Morgan said a quick goodbye and hung up with Garcia.

"Man, you look awful you need some sleep." Morgan raised an eyebrow at him.

"I can't, her voice keeps coming into my head. She would never let me sleep. Plus I feel way too guilty." Reid rubbed his forehead.

"Why do you feel guilty? There was nothing you could do."

"Did you know about what happened with Rachel when we were in high school and college?" Morgan shook his head. "She was really desperate to keep up with me. She wanted to be on level with me all the time and so worked so hard for it. Mom supported her and helped her whenever she could."

Carlson walked over to where they were sat. They had spoken to him and he had explained that his visit to Andrew McPherson was to do with something completely unrelated.

"She had this tutor who helped her through high school and college. He abused her. But she kept quiet about it because she was just a kid, we both were. She thought it was normal, that it was the price she had to pay in order to be as good as me. I'm her twin brother, and I never even realised. I never knew until she told me."

"We will find her." Morgan said comfortingly as the others approached. "You're a good brother, Reid. It's going to be alright."

Carlson disappeared off and out the door. That was when Spencer noticed the clock. They had run out of time. Twenty-four hours was up.

A police officer came up to Reid bearing an eggshell coloured envelope.

She handed it over gravely before walking off.

 _ **Spencer Reid x**_

The kidnapper's second note.

 _I know everything, I hope you understand that. Well done with working out that I went to Beauty school. Poor Ray._

Braving himself for what he was about to see Spencer pulled out the photo.

Rachel was stood this time and it was a full body shot. She was dressed in a yellow frock and a white cardigan. There were no tears this time, she just looked hopeful and brave. Surprising since she had a black eye, a bruised right cheek and a split lip.

But this time it was different, Rachel was telling him something. In her face. She had seen his face, and she trusted him. That was his clue. Trust.


	3. Chapter 3

**Spencer and Rachel**

 **Chapter 3**

She had seen his face. Just a glimpse and just once but she'd seen it. She knew who he was, now she needed to work out how to tell the others.

"I saw you're face. I know who you are." She told him as he walked in. The white cardigan scratched her skin, she had just been told to change and had not yet been beaten.

"You're..." she went to say his name but he struck her across her face. She made the snap decision that her sense of humour was the only thing to hold on to. "Touchy, touchy. No need to get so aggressive. But that's you isn't it? You're always aggressive it's taking every cell in your brain not to beat me to death right now." She swallowed and he struck her again, his fist connecting painfully with her eye. She could already feel blood lightly trickling down her chin. "You are evil, and my friends will find you."

He struck her again with a roar and she fell down with the force, her cheek connecting with the hard concrete.

"Ok, I'll stop now." She sucked her lip and tried to pull herself up a little

"Stand up," he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her, he took her photo she did her best to portray the way she could tell them who it was on her face. Trust was the easiest way. Then he went to write another note. She sat back down and racked her brains. She had to speed this up.

She was sure she could tell the others where she was it was just a matter of how.

…

Spencer forced himself to think. His head was filled with images of Rachel, he was so used to her asking him questions that everything seemed to quiet now.

"I want to talk to McPherson again." Hotch walked in on the group of Morgan, Prentiss and Reid who had all been sat around a small desk.

"Sure," Reid and Morgan stood up and followed Hotch to the door. Strauss was stood there refusing to help until they stopped. They walked past her to the car and got in. in a way they all knew that Strauss didn't really believe it was all some kind of elaborate prank. They knew that if this got out to the press then Strauss could likely lose her job, this was just her coping strategy. None of them really resented her for that.

As they drove away they saw Prentiss try and talk Strauss into helping her. Hotch drove with Reid in the front and Morgan in the back.

"So why do you want to talk to McPherson?" Morgan asked curiously.

"I want to find out about what Carlson was talking to him about." Hotch kept his eyes on the road and his face straight.

Reid bit his lip and closed his eyes, when he opened them they were outside the tiny shack like house. They climbed out of the car and made their way up the wooden steps. Reid knocked on the door and it was answered after about thirty seconds. Andrew looked neater today, his hair was still matted but he had a cleaner vest on and less holey tracksuit bottoms.

"Hello, can I help you?" McPherson was nervous and obviously found standing there awkward.

"We want to ask you a few questions about the conversation you and Sherriff Carlson had. Would you mind?" Hotch asked, McPherson nodded and allowed them in.

"Now I want you to tell us exactly the conversation you two had, ok?" Morgan sat down in a low chair facing McPherson.

"Well he came in, and he was acting odd you know? Aggressive-like. he was saying like, he was gonna put me on a database saying that I took Beauty school and if I didn't go along with it he'd throw me in jail. You see I had an, uh, substance problem, a while back and he got me off a couple of things I did, you know unknowingly. So I uh, I told him ok. That's it I think." McPherson seemed almost civilised.

"That's fine thanks." Hotch answered, he made for the door and Reid and Morgan followed.

"So what do you think Hotch?" Reid asked catching up to him.

"I think that if Carlson isn't there when we get back then we have a un-sub." Hotch slid into the driver's seat but as Reid went to get in, there was a white envelope on his seat with his name written on the front.

 _I want $1,000,000 for her. Bring the money to the old docks or else she will die. Midnight._

Spencer pushed his hair out of his forehead and began to rack his brains. How was he going to get one million dollars before midnight? He had six hours.

"Ok we have to pay the ransom. Or else he's gonna kill her." Spencer felt braver than he had for the past couple of days. He handed the letter to Morgan and slid into the front passenger seat.

The journey from the shack to the police station was the longest it had ever felt. Reid watched every person they drove past, every single woman reminded him of her. In the way they walked or smiled at their companions. He had had the feeling that something was wrong and he hadn't done anything about it. This was completely his fault, he had to make it up to her. For the millionth time the conversation he would have to have with his mother if he lost her flashed through his mind. He wasn't ready to have that conversation. Not yet.

"Emily, where's Carlson?" Reid asked hurriedly as they rushed into the police station.

"I don't know. I don't think he's here." Emily looked startled at his sudden appearance.

"Ok well let's go he might turn up early?" Morgan suggested.

"He won't, Carlson's organised and careful. He won't come until he knows it's the right time. But in the meanwhile we need to see if we can work out where he's holding her. Chances are he'll torture her for the next six hours." Hotch faced them from behind Reid.

They nodded and Garcia began to track all abandoned warehouses near the old docks at the request of Morgan.

"Um, Ok there's a long line of them all down the west side near the old docks. It's gonna take you ages to search them all though there's loads."

"We'll take our chances." Morgan concluded and hung up as he and the others ran out towards the car. They arrived at the first, top warehouse with five hours left.

…

He struck her across the face for the third time successively. She held back her winces and focused on breathing heavily. Trying to distract her mind usually worked but at the moment it wasn't working.

"Do you mind? It kinda hurts." Rachel wanted to rub her cheek but her hands were still bound behind her back. "So since I'm gonna die within the next six hours would you mind telling me where I am?" she opened her eyes wide staring right into his.

"Nope."

"You're all heart." She muttered and he hit her again. Her entire face burned and this particular strike brought a tear to her left eye.

"Please can you stop doing that? If you're gonna hurt me at least do something productive!" she regretted saying that. "Or not." She added quickly.

He picked up a blunt knife from the desk, he took her cheek in one hand and pulled it so her other cheek was facing him. He then pulled the knife through her skin, she hissed in pain. The he turned and walked away, he emerged from the darkness that the light from the single, bare light bulb couldn't reach holding a tube of lemon juice.

"Damn," she whispered and braced herself.

As he dabbed it into her cut she worked hard to stop herself from retaliating, but she couldn't. She kicked him hard in the shin and he backed away, shocked.

He sank back into the blackness and came back again. With a blind fold.

"You know my brother knows who you are."

The blindfold was tied hard around her head and the blackness enveloped her thoughts. All she knew is that she was being forced up and to walk away.

…

They arrived at the Old Docks, Carlson stood there his gun pointed at a figure in a dress, and she was stood at the end of a make-shift plank. It jutted out across the water below. Her hands were bound behind her back and she was blindfolded. Her feet too were bound.

They took out their guns and began to advance.

"It's over Carlson we have you." Hotch walked cautiously towards him. Step by step.

Reid had to stop himself from running out towards his sister.

"Do you have the money?" Carlson held the gun tighter aiming right for Rachel's head.

"No, we have you, you can't get away." Prentiss joined Hotch up front.

"Won't give her back without the money." His finger went to the trigger.

"You've lost, we've won. Just leave it. Get over it." Morgan joined up.

Reid was just behind them, he had always been told never to advance fast if the person had a gun. But he was about to pull the trigger.

He ran and as he was a meter away from him he jumped. As he hit him the trigger was pulled. There was a bang, there was a scream. And Rachel fell into the glassy water below her. Unable to swim out.

…

Rachel stood still as instructed, then she heard the squeal of brakes and Hotch's voice. Then Carlson, then Prentiss, the Carlson again, then Morgan. Where was Spencer? She prayed he was Ok. Blood was still dribbling down her face and she felt a bit faint. But she stayed standing there keeping firm.

The she heard a great scuffle, followed by a gunshot, a mile-second after the gunshot a sharp pain stabbed her leg. She screamed as her leg buckled and she tumbled into the black abyss below her. Then she hit water, hard. She held her breath and tried to will herself upwards. She knew it was useless though. The faintness began to spread and she allowed her mind to cloud over, her thought drifted to Spencer, Her mother, her friends.

She fell, down and down. Further underneath the water. Giving up at last.

Suddenly there were hands around her, dragging her upwards then there was air. She gasped in breath and coughed to try and expel the water that had so rudely invaded her lungs. She still couldn't see, was it the blindfold or did she have her eyes closed. She tried to open them and found the blindfold had been ripped off. Then there was hard wood. She lay, struggling for breath, she could see a blurry Hotch above her, unbinding her feet and hands.

The pain then returned, it shot through her hard and fast. Hissing in pain she went to reach for her leg. There were more people now, she turned her head to see Morgan pulling Carlson into a Police van. Prentiss and Spencer ran towards her.

Spencer reached her first, he could barely recognize her. Her short blonde hair lay around her head, scraggly from the water. Blood, bruises and cuts were all over her face and she was wearing a hideous lime coloured frock.

He knelt down next to her and scooped her up, with his touch she seemed to regain whatever strength she had left.

He held her tightly and she held him tighter back.

"Don't you dare ever scare me like that again, you hear?" he muttered into her ear tears pouring down her cheeks.

"I promise." Tears poured down her cheeks as well. Her whole body ached, especially her leg.

"The paramedics are on their way but we should get her to the car and warm her up." Hotch suggested and wrapped an arm around her waist to help her up. She accepted his help and momentarily forgot that she was inappropriately in love with him. She resorted to hopping to the car, where Strauss waited.

As Strauss saw her, her eyes widened in disbelief. She gave up her seat and helped Rachel to sit down.

"Do I really look that bad?" she asked studying Strauss's face. Spencer answered her, taking her hand as he spoke.

"Yes, yes you do."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Spencer walked through the glass front doors and into the bullpen with his satchel hitting the back of his leg at a steady pace. He focused on this instead of what he really wanted to be thinking about, it wasn't something that was a good idea to think about. Instead he focused on the continuous thumping of the heavy satchel against the back of his thigh and thought about how he needed to adjust the strap to make it higher. This was the first thing he did when he reached his desk, he then put it back on to test it and was pleased to find it now resting in it's rightful place on his hip.

He removed it again and placed it underneath his desk whilst he sat down heavily in his chair and stared at his neatly organised desk for a moment. A small pile of books teetered on the left hand side of his desk which overshadowed the latest memo placed carelessly in the centre on top of his keyboard. He didn't bother to read the memo, it wasn't important.

He couldn't help it, his eyes wandered over to Rachel's desk opposite his in the place of where Elle had once been and Emily after her. It now belonged to Rachel who could impishly pester him whenever she wanted. She wasn't sat there now glaring at him until it made him uncomfortable or engrossed in genuine work. Her bag sat on top of her desk, abandoned so he could see the top of it peeking over the partition.

He didn't have so much of a problem with Rachel returning to the BAU after what had happened in Wisconsin; in fact it was quite the contrary and he was looking forward to having her back at work. What he was worried about was that it was too soon. He was her twin brother there were always going to be worries and paranoias and her being kidnapped had only added to his worries. She'd moved back in with him and had more than proved to him that she was over what had happened and was ready to return to her life but it didn't stop him wanting to protect her.

He looked up at the glass of Hotch's office and could see a small slice of her face through the open blinds. She seemed to be relaxed and he didn't know if this worried him more or gave him a slightly less sense of panic. Rachel Reid was strong, Spencer knew that more than most, but the problem wasn't whether or not Rachel was strong, it was whether Spencer was.

He decided to take a deep breath and turn his attention to the pointless memo, settling back into the idea that everything was fine and returning to normal whilst Rachel worked on convincing Hotch of the exact same thing.

"You know that these meetings are compulsory for returning agents who may have experienced a traumatic event." Hotch told Rachel after she'd complained that the meeting was unnecessary for the third time in five minutes. She'd tried to laugh it off along with the rest of the whole situation but Hotch wasn't convinced.

"Yeah I know but Hotch you know me and you know I'm fine." She replied coolly, leaning back in her chair in a casual manner with a small smile on her face. Hotch sighed and ignored her, instead opting to continue with the questions he was obliged to ask her in order to check in with her.

"Have you been attending all of your post-traumatic therapy sessions?" He asked despite the fact that he had the file right in front of him.

"You know that I have." She replied bluntly, raising an eyebrow in a beckon for the next pointless question.

"How have you found them?" He asked.

"Pointless." She replied honestly and he sighed so she piped up again quickly, leaning forward in her chair and laughing slightly. "It's true! What am I supposed to get out of them? All he did was cut my hair and throw me around a bit. I've dealt with worse whilst off duty. Unfortunately one of the perks of being a female in modern society. Trust me he didn't do anything to me that I couldn't handle. We've all been in those situations, it literally happens all the time."

"We wish it didn't." Hotch replied despite himself and Rachel smiled at him weakly.

"One of the job requirements I think." She said and he smiled weakly at her before moving onto the next question.

"Have you or are you experiencing any feelings of depression or anxiety?" He asked her and she shook her head.

"Nope. I'm not the anxious type." She said and he nodded.

"Listen Hotch, I know you're meant to ask all these questions but really is it necessary? You've known me for four years. You know that I'm fine and you know that I've gone through a lot worse. I did a year of deep cover remember? I dealt with worse then and I came out of it fine. You also know that if I was being off or feeling bad then I would seek help or Spencer would notice and force me to seek help or would tell you. But I am fine. I really am. I just want to get back to putting bad guys away and helping the general public. Please just let me get back to my job. I'm good at it." She pleaded as she leaned forward in her chair and rested her elbows on her knees. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him and he simply looked back for a moment as he tried to make up his mind as to what the best approach would be.

After what felt like at least a full three minutes to Rachel, Hotch sighed and nodded.

"Alright fine. I agree that you're fit for duty. But Rachel you have to promise me that you'll take it easy on the first case and you'll come to me if you feel at any point that you can't cope. Promise me Rachel." He demanded sternly and she nodded.

"I promise. Thank you Hotch, I really mean it. My mind was stagnating at home, Spencer kept trying to get me to read Russian books despite the fact that I can't read Russian." She shuddered.

"Can you speak it?" He asked curiously and she shook her head emphatically.

"Nope. I do Spanish and French." She replied with a roll of her eyes and Hotch couldn't help the grin that accompanied anyone who talked to Rachel for long enough. She smiled herself and leaned back in her chair, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Sorry to interrupt!" Garcia suddenly erupted through the door behind Rachel causing her to turn and Hotch to look up. "Rossi just arrived we're ready to go." She informed them and Hotch and Rachel stood.

Rachel took a deep breath and smiled, looking forward to finally getting back to doing something useful rather than wondering who was cheating on who in the awful daytime television shows. Besides, she always worked it out.

…

 **A/N: I apologise for the amount of time it's taken me to upload. I also apologise for the dramatic shift in time etc. this story will probably get quite AU as I can never quite decide when I want to set it/I want to move through time fairly rapidly so I'm going to run with a space in the BAU where characters such as Emily usually inhabit as that space changes so often. Instead that will be Rachel's space.**

 **Things are beginning to get back on track with this story now so I hope to be updating much more regularly.**

 **Thank you for your continued support.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The button stuck sometimes but Garcia was a professional at getting it to work exactly as she wanted it to. Her ability came in handy in this instance as she faced these people she loved and pitched to them the latest grisly case that they were forced to come across.

"You, my loves, are headed to the sunshine state." She told them with her back firmly to the screen as she battled with the button to produce the gory images of their victims. "Two weeks ago Laura Sholder went missing and reappeared three days later, she had been dismembered and then left in the swamplands for the alligators to finish the job. I never liked alligators. Too many teeth."

"Garcia…" Hotch encouraged and she nodded.

"Right, sorry. Last week Sofia Sanchez also went missing and appeared three days later in the same fashion. They were identified through DNA matching. Florida State Police are concerned about this being a regular pattern which would mean another lady being taken in four days time." Garcia informed them.

"Why dismember them if they're being left for alligators anyway?" Rachel asked.

"Double the forensic countermeasure." JJ suggested.

"Or alligators have some symbolic meaning to him." Morgan added.

"Do any known cults or groups have any affiliation with the use of alligators?" Rachel asked.

"Florida P.D already interviewed local groups but they all checked out." Garcia told them.

"Might be worth doing some background checks anyway." Hotch suggested to her and she nodded in affirmation and made a note with her fluffy, pink pen.

"Bodies also showed signs of self defence, no matter how futile. As well as evidence of torture and abrasions. All in all a massive overkill." Rossi noted as he flicked through his tablet.

"But no signs of sexual assault." JJ commented.

"Most likely male due to victimology." Morgan mused.

"But that's the thing…" Garcia began and everyone turned to look at her. "There are no links in their victimology. Laura Sholder was a caucasian soccer mom and Sofia Sanchez was a hispanic business woman. They couldn't be more different."

"So victims of opportunity?"

"They didn't go anywhere near each other. They ran in completely different circles." Garcia said and Morgan looked down at his tablet in confusion.

"So how did the Unsub find them?" JJ asked and Hotch spoke up.

"That's what we need to find out. When we get there JJ and Morgan go to the latest crime scene, we need to see if there is any symbolic meaning in the place itself. Rossi go to the coroner. Reid you start on victimology and Rachel and I will liaise with the lead detective on the case to gain as much information as possible in regards to eye witnesses and the victims families. Wheels up in twenty." He said and the team dispersed without another word.

Rachel flipped the case of her tablet shut and stood up, collecting her things as she did. Spencer hung back beside her for a moment but didn't know what to say. He stood awkwardly beside her and she stood up straight, turned and almost walked into him as she went to leave.

"Jeez Spencer what are you doing?" She asked as she jumped and stopped herself from walking into him.

"Sorry, I just… I wanted to see how your meeting with Hotch went." He informed her, hugging his satchel to his chest and looking at her with a worried expression. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah it was fine. He cleared me for duty but told me I have to take it easy on this case. Which you know I will because I'm all about following orders." She grinned and he was confused.

"Rachel that's literally the opposite of who you are. You hate following orders." He exclaimed and she smiled a pitying smile at him.

"I was being sarcastic Spencer. But seriously I promised Hotch I would take it easy and I will. I won't go running in to save the day I promise. And I'm all okay. I just want things to go back to normal you know? I just want to get back into work and put some bad guys behind bars." She explained with a weak shrug and he nodded.

"I think getting back to normality might be a good idea." He agreed and she smiled, much more genuinely than he'd seen in a long time. There was a hint of the bright Rachel he'd grown up with.

"So if I promise not to go all hero mode, do you promise to not worry and just be my colleague not my brother?" She asked.

"Well I'd worry even if you weren't my sister. Like if it had happened to JJ I would worry about her…" He began but stopped when he saw her glare and raised eyebrow. "Yes I promise to not worry so much and to be more relaxed with things." He acquiesced as he'd done so many times before. There was no winning against Rachel.

"Good!" She chirped brightly with a grin. "Then let's go we need to get to the air strip and I need to grab my go bag." She said as she pushed past him and headed towards the door.

He watched her go before following her wearily. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep his promise but he knew that if there was anything wrong then he would be able to feel it, and at that moment in time he genuinely believed that Rachel was fine. It helped to put his mind at ease a little. And he also believed that she would keep her promise and stay out of trouble. He just hoped that for once his team could have a straightforward case.

…

 **A/N: Apologies for short chapter, still getting into the swing of things. I promise that they will get longer.**

 **Thank you again for your patience and please stick with me.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Florida was so much warmer than Virginia and Rachel wasn't entirely sure that she liked that. Warm weather tended to make her grouchy and grumpy and affect her work. When she was grouchy then Spencer got grouchy too and eventually it had a knock on effect which could mean that the whole team was on edge, even sometimes with one another. It was only because it was the middle of summer and tourist season. The overabundance of tourists made it seem all the more warmer as the streets were almost completely swamped all of the time. Unfortunately it meant that there were more opportunities for their Unsub to take his victims at his own pleasure. Overall, warm weather was a bad omen for everyone.

They entered the precinct and Rachel was immediately grateful for the blast of icy air from the air conditioning. She took a deep breath and released it as a sigh as she tried to will herself to cool down. She wanted to put her hair into a ponytail just to get it out of her face and off her neck but she didn't have a hair tie. She made a mental note to ask JJ to borrow one. She wasn't sure if she would let her have one as she'd never actually returned one.

"Are you alright?" Hotch asked her as they waited for the lead detective on the case to meet them.

"Yeah I'm just super hot." She told him, fanning herself and fanning out her hair.

"You most certainly are." A man said as he approached them and Rachel almost protested before she saw him and her mouth closed. He had a shock of dirty blonde hair that stood up on top of his head scruffily but added to his boyish charm. His eyes were large and blue and smile lines marked the creases of his mouth only added to by the grin he now wore for them, or for Rachel.

"Detective Inspector Daniel Smith." He introduced himself to Hotch and held out a hand which Hotch took and shook vigorously. He then shook Spencer's hand and saved Rachel for last. As he clasped her hand, warm in her own, he gave her a wink and she smiled back at him.

"I'm SSA Hotchner, this is Doctor Spencer Reid and Special Agent Rachel Reid." Hotch introduced them, ignoring the obvious sparks between Rachel and Daniel.

"Same surname?" Daniel asked inquisitively.

"Siblings." Rachel cleared it up for him quickly with a smile as Reid blushed with annoyance and opened his mouth to say something but couldn't form the words so closed it again, ignored by the others. Hotch concealed an amused smile.

"Oh good, I thought for a second that I had competition." Daniel sighed with a grin before turning and walking through the precinct towards a conference room at the back of the bull pen.

"We've got everything set up like your colleague requested. We thought you could use the conference room to work." Daniel informed them as they moved through the throng of officers working towards the glass windows. Daniel let them into the room and shut the door behind them on the noise of the precinct outside. It was instantly muffled.

"What can you tell us about the victims?" Spencer asked, determined to immediately get on with the work and try and draw the handsome detective's eyes away from his sister.

"Both massively different. Not even any physical similarities." Daniel said. "Laura's husband said that she kept to a clear schedule and never deviated from it as did Sofia but that seems to be the only thing that they have in common. Laura had two kids, seven and nine, she disappeared whilst shopping. Sofia had a boyfriend who said that she went out for her morning jog and never came back. You couldn't find two more different women."

"So what made the unsub choose them?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe he's just not fussy?" Daniel suggested but Hotch shook his head.

"Every criminal has something about his victims. There has to be something linking them. Even if they were just victims of opportunity, there were other victims around, why did he pick these two women in particular? A physically fit young woman and a defenceless mother; you're right, they're completely different." He said and turned around to face the board.

"They were found in two different swamplands within five miles of one another. I've already got a map up and a radius suggested for you." He said and gestured towards it. Spencer crossed over to it and put down his satchel as he observed the map.

"So we can expect him to hit these swamps again. He'll dump his bodies here." Spencer showed them.

"He'd have to be very physically agile and able to transport bodies through the swamp lands whilst also keeping an eye out for alligators himself." Rachel added and the other two nodded in agreement. There was a ringing from Hotch's phone and he pulled it out before switching it onto speaker so the others could hear.

"Rossi, you're on speaker." Hotch told him and they listened to Rossi's voice crackle from the other end.

"I'm with the coroner and he says that those signs of overkill were actually the cause of death. These women were brutally stabbed multiple times and then left to bleed out and dismembered, whilst they were still alive, before being transported. It's not a forensic countermeasure, it's his MO, it's torture." He told them and they looked at one another.

"Okay thanks Rossi." Hotch said.

"One more thing," Rossi called and they paused again. "The victims were almost completely exsanguinated before they were fed to the alligators." He told them and they paused again to digest the information.

"Thank you Rossi." Hotch said and this time hung up the phone. For the moment they simply stood and looked at one another, each trying to form their new information into some story that might make at least a little sense in the mind of a killer.

…

 **A/N: Just a brief thank you once again.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"This is literally the grossest crime scene we've ever visited. And we've visited some really awful places." JJ commented as she and Morgan trudged through the swamp lands towards the crime scene. It wasn't close enough to the road to be able to drive through and, whilst there was a pathway which was relatively dry, it still overflowed a little and squealched beneath their feet.

"Yeah, but do you remember that place in Connecticut? The place with the blood up the walls and the intestines strewn across the floor?" Morgan asked and JJ blanched.

"Oh my God that was the worst actually. The smell was so bad. At least it doesn't smell so bad here. Surprisingly." She noted and Morgan grinned.

"Don't go soft on me now JJ, I need you strong to carry me back through this." He grinned and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure my shoes are more expensive than yours, it should be you carrying me." She replied coolly and he chuckled.

"Alll I'm saying is, thank God Rossi didn't come here. He wouldn't even be able to cope." Morgan said and JJ laughed.

"Yeah! He'd be like 'do you have any idea how much these shoes are? They are genuine Italian leather!'" She imitated him and they laughed together as they approached the crime scene.

Reeds rose above their heads all around them in a dauntting maze and they had to carefully watch their feet as they slugged through the deep mud. An officer was waiting for them on the other side of the reeds and smiled sympathetically at them as they almost fell through. It was like a bank which seemed to blend seamlessly with the large expanse of water ahead of them. Water filled every crevice and the mud seemed to pull them down so they had to keep re-adjusting their position so they didn't get stuck.

"So Sofia's body was found here." JJ commented as she looked around at the bright blue sky above them. The heat was so prominent that she was surprised it didn't dry up the water or at least harden the mud a little.

"The Unsub must have a pretty good working knowledge of this area and must be very physically fit to be able to get a body through here, dismembered or not. I can barely get myself through here." Morgan said and JJ nodded.

"Where were each of the body parts found?" She asked the officer who sighed and grimaced.

"The entire body was found here." He pointed to a spot. "We tried to cordon it off but the marker kept sinking."

"They were just in a pile?" JJ asked and the officer shook his head.

"No. They were laid out in anatomical order, just all cut up. There wasn't a single finger or toe missing." He told them and JJ shuddered at the thought of it.

"So he stayed here longer than he needed to just to put the body back together again." JJ concluded.

"Wait, isn't it storm season? Maybe this is some kind of Frankenstein thing? He's bringing the bodies out here and hoping that they'll be re-animated?" Morgan suggested.

"But surely then he'd be re-stitching them back together? And they would contain different body parts from different women? Both sets of body parts were found in full, belonging to the same owner each time." JJ said and Morgan nodded.

"You're right. It has to be the alligators." He said, shaking his head.

"But why does he take the risk himself? Surely he's in enough danger being here himself so why bother to come here to dump a body when there are loads of other, much simpler places?" JJ asked.

"Plenty of forensic countermeasure? Unlikely to be found? Plus he must know the area particularly well and maybe even have special gear to help him get around out here. Maybe that's it? Maybe there's no symbolism with the alligators and it's just to dispose of the bodies."

"But then why kill them?"

"Because he's a sadistic psychopath. It's what they do." Morgan said sadly and there was a short pause which was interrupted by Morgan's phone. He took it out of his pocket and unlocked it to accept the call.

"Talk to me baby girl." He said into the phone and Garcia began.

"First things first I have bad news, my love. All the groups and gangs in the area check out as strictly druggies and weirdos. There's one gang which use alligators as their insignia but that seems to be all it is, I can't see anything that ties them to these murders. Sorry." She said sadly but Morgan shrugged.

"It's okay, it was a long shot anyway. What about the two women? Did you find anything else out about them?" He asked.

"These women didn't even like the same TV shows according to their streaming history! There is literally nothing that ties them together, they didn't even visit the same coffee shop. No internet purchases in common; no shady, weird emails; not so much as a creepy text message. These women were clean as a whistle. I feel like I'm not being much use today, I'm sorry." She groaned and Morgan smiled at the phone.

"Don't you worry about it baby girl. Listen, can you look into people who might have lisences to fish in the swamps or any other people who have special gear and requirements for being here? Trust me, navigating this place is no easy feat and we might be able to find him through that." Morgan asked and Garcia perked up immediately.

"My fingers type as quickly as my heart beats with love for you." She chirruped and Morgan grinned as he hung up.

"Garcia found nothing on local gangs and even less on tying the two victims together." Morgan informed JJ who sighed.

"That gives us nothing in terms of victimology." She sighed.

"Hey, leave the victimology to Reid. What do we know about the Unsub?"

"Okay. Male, physically fit, probably has some kind of specialist equipment and lisence." JJ began.

"Also potentially a history in medicine and an obsession with human anatomy." Morgan added.

"Sadistic psychopath who targets victims of opportunity with no physical similarities. It's not much to go on." JJ noted wearily but Morgan shook his head.

"At least it's something."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Spencer stared at the map until his eyes hurt, then he moved his gaze to the board that outlined who the victims were and what was done to them. He stared at the board until his eyes hurt and then he moved his gaze back to the original map. He sighed, he was missing something he knew he was. There was nothing new popping out at him and his brain was going at it's full capacity but there was still nothing happening. He knew that he needed help but he had too much pride to ask for it. He was determined to come to something by himself, there had to be something he could gain from staring at the board. It was something obvious, it was niggling at the back of his brain and refused to be found. It was like he kept gaining a grasp on it but then it dissipated and fled from his fingers.

He sighed again and rubbed his eyes before returning his gaze to the board. He adjusted his seating position to be more comfortable, blinked a couple of times, and then resumed his original task. He heard the door open and shut behind him but he didn't move his eyes from the board, he refused to until they hurt. He examined every single detail and re-examined it again and again. There had to be _something_.

He felt someone sit beside him on the table and nudge him slightly. He knew from the proximity of this person that it was Rachel but she didn't say anything, she knew not to until he spoke to her first. She knew that he was in the zone and was trying to come to a conclusion, often he was close to one, this time he was not. When they had sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes Rachel cleared her throat and Spencer gave up, he turned his head to her and she was staring at him with a bemused expression.

"How you doing?" She asked in a light tone and he felt like the look on his face told her everything.

"There's something here I can feel it." He said, jumping up and moving over to the board. "But every time I think I'm close I lose it. It's so annoying."

"Maybe you just need some help. Someone to bounce ideas off?" Rachel suggested and Spencer nodded slowly.

"Yeah, okay. It used to work when we were doing homework so why not." He conceded and looked back at the board.

"So, what are you thinking?" Rachel asked, leaning forward and looking at him inquisitively.

"The victims. They're both so different in terms of their physical appearances but all serial killers have a pattern, no matter how small. There's always something that attracts them to that particular victim. There's something about both victims that's similar but I can't place my finger on it." He explained, annoyed at himself.

"Alright, describe Laura Sholder to me." Rachel requested and Spencer thought for a moment.

"Late thirties, brunette with curled hair, brown eyes and glasses. Was last seen wearing sweat pants and a tank top." Spencer described and Rachel nodded slowly.

"Okay now describe Sofia Sanchez." She demanded.

"Early twenties, black, straight hair with brown eyes. Was last seen wearing jogging pants and a jacket." Spencer described and Rachel stood.

"Both victims had brown eyes?" Rachel suggested but Spencer shook his head.

"It's not specific enough."

"Wait, they were both found in workout gear, yes?" Rachel said, crossing to him quickly and he nodded.

"Yeah."

"Sofia Sanchez was out on her morning jog, Laura Sholder was out shopping. But her purse was missing. What kind of a woman goes shopping without her purse?" Rachel said.

"Maybe the Unsub still has it?" Spencer suggested.

"No because the police found it at her home with her cellphone and wallet. What was she out doing shopping without her cell or wallet? Her iPod was found at the scene of her abduction and she had headphones. As well as…" Rachel trailed off and rushed over to her tablet. She picked it up and began rifling through the photos, Spencer retraced the case in his mind and thought about everything that was found.

"A gym membership card." He finished for her and Rachel stopped and looked up at him excitedly.

"Meaning that the Unsub has a pattern…" She put down her tablet and walked over to him quickly.

"Women who work out…"

"Jogging or gym memberships which are all…"

"Potential hunting grounds!"

"We found it!" Rachel shouted excitedly and Spencer grinned and they laughed together and clapped both their hands together whilst whooping and cheering with laughter.

"That was impressive!" Daniel said from the doorway, they hadn't even noticed him enter. Rachel turned suddenly and grinned, Spencer scowled.

"Hey!" She greeted him brightly.

"It's a thing we do. We're twins, fraternal." She explained and Daniel nodded, walking into the room.

"That's awesome. So can you guys like, read each others minds?" Spencer rolled his eyes but Rachel laughed in an annoying way Spencer had never heard her laugh before.

"No! That's silly! But we can usually tell when something's wrong or something's good or something. I guess we're just close."

"Really? That must get weird when you're in a relationship or something?" Daniel said.

"Why would you think that?" Rachel asked and Spencer glared between the two of them.

"Well, if you have like shared feelings surely it's awkward for the date? They would feel like the third wheel." Daniel said walking closer and Rachel moved closer to him before leaning against the table.

"I don't know… I've never had a test subject." She grinned.

"Well maybe I can help you find someone. For scientific purposes purely of course." Daniel smirked and Spencer looked more alarmed now.

"Well maybe that's a project that needs to be investigated. It sounds awfully important." She pandered and he grinned. They were very close, too close for Spencer's liking. He'd never felt more awkward, he tried to avert his eyes but found that made it even worse.

"Maybe I can find you a willing test subject… For your brother of course." He said with a wink and her mouth and eyes widened in shock as they laughed together. Someone shouted for Daniel out in the bull pen and he looked back before groaning.

"I'll be right there." He moved away from Rachel and towards the door, he winked at Rachel again with a grin and she grinned back. "Duty calls, I'll see you later." He grinned and nodded at Spencer before disappearing.

"He's awesome isn't he?" Rachel said, staring at the door after him. "He's so funny!"

"Yeah he's hilarious." Spencer replied in a flat tone, turning back to the board and grimacing.

"You okay?" She asked worriedly, she turned towards him and furrowed her brow with worry, her lips forming a slightly pout.

"Yeah I'm great. I love spending time with Detective Smith." He replied in just as sarcastic a tone as before and something clicked with Rachel. She let out a slight laugh and walked over to Spencer.

"Wait, do you not like him flirting with me?" She asked him with a smile and he turned to face her.

"Well I just don't trust him. Guys like him always have an agenda." He explained, exasperated.

"Oh my God!" She laughed in response. "You're jealous of him!"

"What do I have to be jealous about?" He defended himself.

"Because I like him so you're not the only guy to hold a key to my heart anymore." She grinned.

"'A key to your heart'. Jesus you sound like mom." Spencer stropped, turning away and back towards the board. Rachel broke down laughing, unable to control her fits of giggles.

"Shut up." He grumbled but she didn't hear him over her own laughter.

JJ and Morgan returned from their trip to the swamp and were met with a grumpy Spencer and a laughing Rachel.

"What's so funny?" Morgan asked and Rachel fought back her giggles as Hotch and Rossi joined them from the bull pen.

"Nothing, just Spencer being Spencer." She replied and managed to control herself.

"Returning to the case." Spencer glowered, turning back to the rest of the team. "We worked out the Unsub's preference. He hunts young women who exercise, Sofia Sanchez was abducted whilst out for her morning jog and a gym membership card was found where Laura Sholder was abducted." Spencer explained and Rachel nodded.

"A gym or fitness club could be where the Unsub is hunting and finding his victims." Rachel added.

"That makes sense. He would have to be very physically fit in order to be dumping the bodies in that swamp. It's difficult to manoeuvre." Morgan said and JJ nodded.

"Garcia found nothing linking the two women together so it's likely that he belongs to multiple fitness clubs to gain access to a wider victim pool." She said.

"The bodies were also found to be laid out, in full, in anatomical order. If he has an obsession with the human anatomy then a wide understanding of physicality and fitness would be essential. It would also help him in the torture, he knows which are the most sensitive areas of the body. All in all he has a firm grip on the human body. Pun unintentional." Morgan added again.

"Garcia's looking for men who have specialist equipment and reasoning for being in or near the swamp." JJ informed them and they turned to Hotch and Rossi for their inputs.

"Well according to the coroners reports each of the victims were stabbed repeatedly but all major organs were avoided. The Unsub knew exactly where everything was." Rossi explained.

"Definitely an anatomical obsession then." JJ nodded and the others nodded in agreement.

"Each of the dismembered limbs were cut with a serrated edge but they had a clean cut to them. They were almost completely exsanguinated before being dumped too. So what's he doing with the blood?" Hotch asked.

"Vampirism?" Rachel asked but Hotch shook his head.

"There are no indicators of vampiric delusions, the behaviour is too organised." Morgan clarified and Rachel nodded her understanding.

"What if the blood is being used to bait the alligators from another region of the swamplands?" JJ suggested and they all looked to her.

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked.

"Well, when we were there, there were no signs of alligators at all. None. So what if the alligators are in a different region and he's bottling the blood then using it from a safer distance to bait the alligators to the victims?"

"That way he wouldn't be putting himself in danger." Morgan observed and JJ nodded.

"That makes sense." Hotch agreed and then turned to Morgan again. "Did Garcia find anything on the gangs?"

"She found one that used alligators for insignia but they checked out as having no relation to the murders." He clarified and Hotch nodded.

"One more thing," Rossi began, "These women aren't substitutes so what's his motive? How do we protect women?"

"It's the act of the physical exercise itself. He's finding his perfect specimen through their levels of fitness." Spencer clarified.

"We're ready to give the profile." Hotch announced and they nodded their agreement, one step closer to putting another bad guy behind bars.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Daniel called for quiet amongst his fellow police officers and they fell silent almost immediately. There were a couple more murmurs and coughs but once they quietened down completely Hotch nodded to Daniel and stepped forward.

"We are looking for a white male in his late twenties to early thirties who is tall and both physically attractive and fit." Hotch began and Morgan continued.

"He is agile and well built, he probably works in a career that relies on his physical prowess. However there is also a possibility that he works within a sector that requires a working knowledge of human anatomy, such as a personal trainer or fitness doctor."

"He is targeting victims of opportunity, Laura Sholder was abducted whilst on her way home from the gym and Sofia Sanchez whilst she was out on her morning jog. Both of these women were physically fit and attractive and enjoy working out. This identifies his victim pool." Rossi added.

"But he harbours a massive rage towards these women which is shown through his overkill." Spencer said. "He stabs each of his victims and dismembers them which shows his complex understanding of the human anatomy as he avoided any major organs, resulting in them bleeding out slowly."

"Each of the victims was completely bled out and dismembered whilst still alive. The blood was then used to bait the alligators to the bodies" JJ contributed.

"This killer is meticulous and organised, he most likely owns specialist equipment which aids him in navigating the swamps. He's very familiar with the area and has probably lived here his whole life." Rachel said and looked to Hotch to conclude.

"He is a sadistic psychopath who, when engaged will go down in a hail of bullets. He will appear arrogant and self centred and extreme caution should be exercised when engaging with him. Thank you for your time." Hotch concluded and nodded as the murmurs and buzz of the police station started up again. Daniel approached Hotch and the others fell in to join the conversation.

"We need to coordinate a press conference to warn the women in the city." Hotch informed Daniel who nodded.

"Well there's been a horde of reporters outside for the past two days. Once they got a whiff of this story they didn't let go. You can pretty much have one whenever. I'll call in a couple of favours anyway and get the big leagues here." Daniel said.

"Thank you." Hotch replied and JJ stepped forward.

"I used to be media liaison, would it be alright if I went with you to plan and organise what needs to be said and how we need to put this across?" JJ asked and Daniel nodded.

"Of course." Daniel smiled and the others went back to the conference room to try and work out more ways to get a lead whilst JJ and Daniel walked over to his desk. Rachel tagged along at the end of the group and looked back, Daniel was already watching her leave. They smiled at each other before Rachel disappeared into the conference room with the others and shut the door behind her. JJ watched the entire exchange.

Daniel watched the conference room for a few more moments, smiling to himself in a secretive way before he turned back to JJ who was smiling at him herself, she had a raised eyebrow and was trying hard not to smirk.

"What?" He asked as he began to rifle through his papers to find the numbers of the local television stations that he could pull in to the press conference. JJ leaned against the other side of his desk and tried to conceal her smile, folding her arms across her chest..

"You just seem rather, uh, taken with Rachel. That's all." She commented as he found the piece of paper he'd jotted the numbers down on and was handing them over to a secretary. He quickly gave her clear instructions before turning back to JJ.

"So what if I am?" He asked, slightly defensively but mainly curious.

"She's just an interesting person to be crushing on. To be honest this is the first time I've seen her like this." JJ noted, turning to face Daniel.

"What do you mean?" He asked, she had his full attention now. "What's she usually like."

JJ groaned and sighed before taking a seat opposite him as he perched on the desk. She leaned back in the chair and thought for a moment before smiling.

"She's one of the greatest colleagues. She's one of my best friends. But she's an odd person. Not odd in the conventional odd way, she's just difficult to predict. She's usually so defensive and hard, she never misses a witty remark; she never usually let's people act towards her in the way she lets you act. She never flirts, she usually just mocks people. She's usually so much more hardened, like she has this shell that it takes people a long time to pull down from her, but you've done it almost right away. I've just never seen her like this before. She's usually so different. People usually dislike her when they first meet her." JJ explained in depth and Daniel listened intently.

"That's interesting." He mused, nodding his head slowly and thinking to himself.

"She is interesting. I feel like I have to warn you that she's quite a lot to handle. But she seems so different with you that maybe she'll be a little more tame. If you like her you should go for it, it would be nice to see her in a relationship, or at least having gone on a date with someone that she doesn't immediately mock." JJ suggested and Daniel smiled at her, his eyes were lit up with genuine excitement.

"Do you really think she's into me?" He asked and JJ nodded.

"Definitely. Like I say I've never seen her like this before. You guys could have a real shot at it." JJ grinned.

"Hmm, maybe I will ask her out. But maybe after we've got all of this sorted. This case needs to come first." Daniel said, turning away and walking back around to the other side of his desk.

"I agree." JJ leaned forward in her chair. "But before we move on can I give you one last piece of advice?" She asked and Daniel looked curious again.

"Sure." He said slowly and she knew that once again she had his full attention.

"If you're gonna go for the whole long distance relationship thing then be careful. I know from experience that it's difficult and I don't really know you but I know that it could get to Rachel after a while. When you're getting into a long distance relationship, even at the beginning, it has to have some kind of commitment to it. It will be tough and down the line you both might have to make some difficult decisions, I just want you to be prepared for that and be prepared for her to say she's not."

Daniel thought about what she was saying for a moment before nodding slowly again and smiling warmly.

"Thanks for the advice, I'll take it into consideration. Now, this press conference…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The team had been correlating all their data and outlining possible leads for three hours when the call came through. Daniel had been working at his desk in the bull pen and barely glanced up when a relatively new officer approached his desk. He didn't even notice her until she coughed to alert him to her presence. He looked up suddenly and saw the officer smiling bemusedly at him. She was pretty, he couldn't remember her name but he remembered that he'd tried to flirt with her the previous week.

"Yes?" He asked and she raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to use her name. He knew that she knew he didn't remember it. He sighed and leaned back in his chair as she placed a piece of paper on his desk with perfectly manicured nails. They were painted a deep red which stood out just enough against her mocha coloured skin, her dark hair was plaited down one side of her head and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown. She was truly very pretty, he considered asking her out, she certainly would be an easier choice than Rachel.

"I didn't know if this was related to your case but I just got the call in myself. Violet Crain, she went missing from the park this morning. She was walking her dog who was found dead in the trees on the north side of the park. Officers on scene are detaining witnesses just in case it is one of yours." She explained and all thoughts of flirtation of relationships disappeared from Daniel's mind as he leaned forward again and snatched up the paper. He scanned the contents quickly and nodded.

"Thank you." He said quickly as he stood and went for the door to the conference room.

"Oh and Detective?" the girl called after him and he stopped and turned back to her.

"It's Vergas, Elena Vergas." She smiled flirtatiously before turning on her heel and leaving him behind. He stood for a moment, shocked, before remembering his job and going for the conference room. They stopped talking as he entered and looked at him expectantly.

"Another woman just went missing from a local park, she was walking her dog. It says in the report a pedometer was found near the dog's body." He explained and Hotch stood quickly accompanied by the others.

"Let's go, do the officers on scene have witnesses waiting? We'll want to talk to them at the scene, it will help them to remember more details." Hotch said to Daniel as the others picked up their belongings. Daniel nodded and Hotch thanked him.

Daniel went back out to his desk to collect the other papers regarding the women's disappearances and the team filed out from the room and out the front towards their SUV's. Daniel made to follow them when he found Elena blocking his path.

"Look," she began seriously and Daniel sighed, he knew what was coming. "I just finished up on my last case. Let me help out here. Let me come with you, I might be more helpful than you realise." She suggested and he nodded.

"Fine, let's just go before we get left behind." He said and the pair of them left the precinct and took Daniel's car.

Hotch, Morgan and Rachel shared one car together, Rachel was sat in the back and had a copy of the same papers Daniel did, she was rifling through them as they drove.

"What's wrong Ray?" Morgan asked and she sighed.

"There's a pattern here. It's like it's subtle but I can still see it, it's just not obvious." She murmured and Hotch was reminded of how Spencer acted when he was distracted. It was strange how they were so alike yet so different.

"We've all been looking for the pattern." Morgan replied but Rachel shook her head.

"It's right here…" She mumbled. She stared at one sheet for a moment then another and then the final one.

"Wait a minute, what day is it?" She asked.

"Saturday." Hotch answered and Rachel grinned.

"All women have gone missing from public places on a Saturday morning. The Unsub has a job which stops him from hunting during the week but can't wait for long enough, he gets too excited so he takes the women as early as he can on Saturday mornings." She concluded.

"Violet was abducted today at around midday. That's early?" Morgan asked but it was Hotch who had caught on and answered.

"He works early shifts, he like to sleep in when he can."

"So he works somewhere probably where the public aren't usually around. When insecure women might work out. Early mornings in a gym or park." Rachel said.

"But why doesn't he just follow them home and take them from their cars?" Morgan asked. "These are high-risk victims in high-risk areas. So why does he take that risk?"

Rachel thought for a moment before pulling out her phone and dialling Garcia's number.

"Hey Garcia, can you find any vehicle records for any of the women please?" She asked and then smiled at Garcia's witty remark. She waited for a few minutes whilst Garcia worked her magic and then listened intently.

"Really? No it's actually very helpful don't worry. Thanks." She said and hung up the phone.

"None of the women owned a car. There was a car registered to Laura Sholder's husband but she wasn't licensed to drive it." She informed them.

"He had to know that none of the women owned a car." Hotch commented.

"Meaning that they weren't victims of opportunity, he knew them, he stalked them." Morgan said and pulled out his phone to call Garcia again as Hotch pulled into the parking lot of the park.

They got out and Morgan moved aside to call Garcia and try again to find any connection between the women. As he did this, Hotch and Rachel walked over to the others who had already arrived and they filled them in on the new information.

"I'll let the press know."" JJ said and walked off in the opposite direction of Morgan, pulling out her own phone. Daniel and Elena joined them and Daniel tried to ignore the way Rachel and Elena looked each other up and down.

"There are three witnesses," Daniel explained, trying his best to ignore the glares from the women either side of him. He gestured behind him where two men and a woman were waiting.

"I'll interview the woman." Hotch said and Rachel piped up.

"I'll join you." She said and Daniel sighed and pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"You alright?" Rossi asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah, just, the heat giving me a headache. I'll be aright." He lied and Rossi smiled knowingly.

"Why don't you come with me and officer… I'm sorry I don't know your name?" Rossi said and Elena stepped forward and extended a hand.

"Vergas." She introduced herself and Rossi smiled and shook her hand warmly.

"Officer Vergas would you interview the man over there?" Rossi asked and she nodded with a tight smile.

"Of course." She said and turned, marching purposefully away.

"Jesus, women…." Daniel sighed and Rossi chuckled as they made their way over to the third witness.

"You have no idea."

Hotch and Rachel had asked the basic questions, they knew what happened in the park. The woman had been the one to find the dog and call the police, they assured her she was right to do so. Unfortunately she was not stupid.

"This is related to those other women isn't it? The ones who got chopped up? It could have been me!" She worried but Rachel judged from her plump frame it was unlikely the Unsub would have chosen her.

"There's no use worrying about that now. Did you see anything out of the ordinary? Anything unusual at all?" She asked and the woman thought for a moment.

"I do remember seeing a van in the parking lot." She said and Rachel narrowed her eyes.

"Why is that strange?" She asked and the woman thought for another moment.

"Well it was a maintenance van." She continued and Hotch and Rachel snuck a confused glance at one another.

"Surely that's not uncommon? Maintenance is done in public places daily." Hotch said and she shook her head.

"This is my local park. Trust me they've been doing maintenance here for nearly two years. They were renovating the entire place. But they recently finished. There was a grand re-opening and the mayor himself promised there would be no need for further construction here for at least another five years!" She said and Rachel understood.

"The maintenance van could have been doing check ups? Making sure everything's in order?" She suggested and the woman shrugged.

"Maybe, it just felt odd to me. It was from a different service usually used here. You see we usually have 'Recreational Fields' but this company was called… 'Pine Cone Maintenance'. I've never seen it before." She said and Rachel nodded.

"Thank you, that's everything." She smiled and the woman smiled warmly and left.

"So we have a possible maintenance van. It's not really much of a lead." Rachel commented pessimistically but Hotch was unsure.

"You have to admit, it is pristine around here. And the company was a different company to the one used for renovations? That's certainly something." He said. Rachel nodded and sighed.

"I guess I'll call Garcia again." She said and Hotch smiled slightly.

"She'll be glad to be busy."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Morgan glanced around the clean reception area of Pine Cone Maintenance and decided he didn't trust somewhere which didn't at least have a little mud trucked into it's carpets, especially a place that renovated park areas. He and Rossi had been waiting for the manager for a few minutes and he was getting restless, they didn't have a lot of time to find the latest victim and he didn't want to lose her on account of some manager's tardiness. Rossi noticed his discomfort and looked him up and down, Morgan pretended not to notice.

"Morgan…" Rossi began and Morgan looked at him. "Calm down, we'll find her."

Morgan wasn't in the mood for an argument. He knew that Rossi meant well, and in truth it did give him a little comfort to hear Rossi say that. He trusted Rossi and he trusted the rest of his team and he knew that everyone would do everything that they could to find her and bring her home safely. Then again, a few minutes could make all the difference.

A tall, balding man appeared from around the corner and smiled wearily at Rossi and Morgan who flashed their badges again.

"Agents." The man smiled, shaking their hands. "How can I help you?"

"We need to know if you have any contracts involving the renovation of this park?" Rossi asked politely and showed the manager photographs of the newly refurbished park.

"Oh no, we were actually quite jealous that we lost out on that one. It was a big job, would have done well to turn this company around you know? Times are tough." The manager replied.

"Times are very tough indeed. Especially for this woman, Violet Crain have you seen her before?" Morgan asked, flashing a photograph of their latest victim, hoping that if their unsub did work there then maybe there was a connection after all. The manager, however, looked blank and shook his head slowly.

"No, I'm sorry, I've never seen her before. Is she alright? What does this have to do with my company, and the park?" He asked and Rossi sighed as Morgan replied.

"She was abducted from this park this morning and we have an eye witness placing one of your vans in the area." Morgan informed him.

"Do you have any contracts in that area at all?" Rossi asked hopefully.

"Uh, I'll have to check. Come this way." The manager said and gestured as he led them from the main reception area and further back into the office. They walked through a small bull pen of busily working men and women and then down a corridor and past a garage where they could see the vans that had been identified. Eventually they were led into a small office and the manager sat down at the computer.

"Whilst we're the largest office in the area we actually have multiple locations at various points covering different areas. We're a very large company and I can't keep track of everyone and everything that's going on." The manager explained apologetically as he logged into his account on the computer and began opening programmes that could help him.

"We have the majority of our records electronically saved but there are a few which are still only paper copy. We like to have back ups so we begin by creating paper copies and then fill it in online after the fact. It makes us thorough." The manager explained as if he'd just read Morgan's mind about how Garcia could have been doing this so much faster.

"How long will it take you to check the paper records?" Rossi asked wearily.

"I've checked them all myself recently, so I know that there's nothing in there in that area." The manager replied as he tapped at the keyboard and Morgan and Rossi felt slightly better.

"According to our records, the nearest contract we have is three miles away from the park, so no, there should be no reason for any of the vans to be near the park." The manager said, his face turning slightly pale.

"Do you have any way of keeping track of the vans?" Rossi asked and the manager started suddenly.

"Yes they all have GPS tracking so we can tell where each of them goes. I can check them all to see which ones were in the area but it will take some time…" He said apologetically and the two agents shook their heads as they made to leave.

"Don't worry, we have someone who can do it much faster. Thank you for your time you've been very helpful." Morgan said as they left and the manager was left in his office nodding his understanding to thin air.

They left the office quickly and Rossi climbed into the drivers seat of the car whilst Morgan climbed into the passengers side. As Rossi was starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot, Morgan dialled Garcia.

"Fountain of all knowledge and beauty, how may I be of service?" Garcia said as she answered.

"Hey baby girl, we need you to do a low down of all the GPS coordinates in the vans from the company called Pine Cone maintenance and find out which one was by the park we were at earlier today. Can you do that?" Morgan asked and he heard Garcia chuckle.

"I sure can, and I'll tell you what, I'll even throw in who was driving this van completely for free." Garcia replied and Morgan smiled.

"You are too generous."

"I know, I spoil you. I'll hit you up in a jiffy." She said with a flourish and hung up the phone.

"Garcia's tracking the vans." Morgan informed Rossi who nodded.

"It might take her a while. There are a lot of vans, there were at least ten in that garage and he said that they weren't the only branch in the city." Rossi said and Morgan nodded.

"True. But this is Garcia we're talking about." He replied and Rossi smiled. They drove back to the precinct, both trying to ignore the heat and soak up whatever breeze they could. It was as they had returned and were walking into the conference room where the rest of the team were waiting that the phone rang. Hotch answered.

"You're on speaker Garcia." He informed her.

"Okay, I did some digging as per requested by my spoilt chocolate thunder and I found a guy. Like a creepy guy who drives a van." Garcia informed them and they all sat up a little straighter.

"Who is it Garcia?"

"His name is Stephen Chu, he has a rap sheet for sexual assault and attempted assault with a knife but that wasn't why his wife left him my dear friends, oh no, she left him for another man. Her fitness instructor who she met at the gym. He drives the van and works for the company and was near the park and I am sending his address to your phones right now." She informed them quickly and they all stood and made for the door.

"Thank you Garcia." Hotch informed them and managed to hear her trademark 'Be safe' before hanging up the phone and following the others out of the door.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The drive over to the unsub's house was stifling and not just because of the heat. There was an discomfort within the cars, they were sure that this was their unsub and they knew that they'd not been so wrong as to let an unsub go free before. What they were more worried about was the time frame that Chu stuck to, they were anxious about how they would get there in time to save the woman. Morgan watched out of the corner of his eye as Rachel bounced her left leg and Spencer his right. They were like two halves of the same person.

Once they reached the house, Spencer, Rachel and JJ took the back whilst the remainder of the team and Daniel went through the front. Hotch led the way through the front of the house and they continued up the stairs and searched the upstairs of the home. Spencer led the other two through the back door and through the downstairs of the house. Everything was immaculate, nothing was out of place. Everything was perfect, and there was no sight of their suspect anywhere. They reconvened at the foot of the stairs, each sharing confused and worried expressions. In his frustration Morgan stormed out from the front door and the team decided it would be best if they left him to cool down for a few minutes.

Rachel leaned against the banister looking dejected and angry, she twiddled her thumbs with the holster of her gun and it made the others nervous, they knew how she could be when she was anxious.

They stood in silence, none of them knew what they could do. Hotch sighed as he pulled out his phone and asked that Garcia track the van, but he knew that Chu would have dumped it by now. He could be anywhere.

'Hey guys!' Morgan called from outside and they snapped back into alertness again, Rachel flicked the holster off of her gun and placed her fingers around the handle, ready to pull it out.

'There's a garage!' Morgan called and they streamed out of the door. They wasted no time, taking the same pursuit as before. They paused before pulling open the main door of the garage up and open to reveal the van, behind the van was a workbench where their missing woman was lying. There was a door at the back of the garage too, leading into the garden, JJ pulled this open and they filed in the back.

Chu jumped from the back of his truck and rushed around behind the woman to hold a knife to her throat and pull her up to shield himself, she whimpered but was obviously under some kind of drug which inhibited the way she could speak and act coherently. The team formed a semi-circle around him, each holding their guns trained on him in order to get a decent shot that wouldn't harm the victim.

'Don't shoot! Don't come anywhere near me or else I'll kill her right now!' He cried. He was a small, anxious man who was dressed in a smart shirt and trousers.

'Calm down Stephen.' Hotch said, taking charge and stepping forward. 'We don't want to hurt you.'

'That's not exactly how it looks from where I'm standing.' Chu sneered and they had to see his point.

'Look,' Daniel said slowly, he walked forward and holstered his gun. He held his hands up in a sign of good will and tried a small smile. Rachel wanted to admire him but she kept her gaze fixed pointedly on Chu, she couldn't afford to let him hurt this woman.

'I know what you're doing,' Chu said quickly, defensively, the knife moved a little closer to her throat and she let out another whimper, it appeared the fear was overpowering the effects of the drugs. 'You're trying to make me empathise, trying to appear like a friend to me. As if I don't know that as soon as I drop this knife you'll tackle me to the ground and I'll spend the rest of my life in a jail cell. I don't want that.'

'No offence Stephen, but if you can see where we're coming from, then you can see the reasoning for it.' Daniel smiled wryly. 'You need help, and we can get that for you. But it won't be solved by hurting this woman. I don't want to be your friend, to be honest I couldn't see us hanging out and having a few beers. You're too business for me. I'm more of a casual guy.'

JJ snuck a quick glance at him and could see what he meant, his hair was scruffy where he'd been running his fingers through it and his shirt was untucked.

'I just want you to know that that woman is important. She's got a family you know. You're not just taking her future if you kill her, you're taking the future of others too. Isn't that kind of like what your ex did to you?' Daniel asked and Stephen huffed and moved nervously, uncomfortably. The heat in the garage was sweltering.

'Man, I get it. Ex's can be nasty pieces of work. And you loved her so much. If I was in love with someone that much and they left me. I wouldn't kill other people but I'd certainly want to kill someone. But I would know that it would only be my fault. Maybe it was your fault?' Daniel asked lightly and Stephen blushed red. Rachel caught on to what he was getting at.

'I'm not going to lie I can't entirely blame her.' She said and took a leap of faith. She shrugged and put her gun away light-heartedly. She trusted in the others. She did her best to appear calm despite the fact that her heart was hammering in her chest.

'He's not particularly impressive, right?' Daniel asked her with a shrug and she shook her head with a pout.

'I can't see what his wife saw in him, can you JJ?' She asked her friend and JJ shook her head with wide eyes.

'Maybe it was the money? I mean he used to earn a fair amount right?' JJ asked and Rossi was the one to shrug in response this time.

'Not really,' Rossi contributed, 'mediocre job in a mediocre town. He just dresses everything up to make it look better. He's nothing more than an actor.'

'Oh yeah that explains it.' JJ acquiesced and Rachel muttered an agreement as she walked across to stand beside Daniel. She cocked her head and folded her arms as she looked at Stephen.

'But actually, I think I know why she left.' Daniel said and Rachel looked at him quizzically.

'Why?'

'Well, why do you think? Tiny…' He completed his sentence with a whistle and tiny crook of his little finger.

Suddenly, Stephen ran forward, screaming in a fit of rage, straight at Daniel. Daniel and Rachel both reached for their guns but neither were quick enough. Stephen caught Daniel's hand as he grabbed his gun and pushed it away, Daniel's finger involuntarily squeezed the trigger and the bullet missed Rachel by inches. Stephen then aimed a blow upwards and the knife slid along Daniel's cheek, he staggered backwards with the momentum and Rachel could use this opportunity of space to shoot. She aimed at his leg and pulled the trigger. Stephen collapsed in a howl of agony and Daniel leapt forward again to cuff his hands behind his back. The entire exchange had lasted less than thirty seconds.

Rossi and Morgan hurried forward and helped the woman to sit up and breathe properly. They propped her up and wrapped their arms around her to warm her up, she was shivering and quietly sobbing, fear overpowering the drug that had been introduced to her system.

The wail of sirens outside announced the arrival of the ambulance they'd requested and the woman was the first priority. Spencer applied pressure to Chu's leg whilst he himself wailed and sobbed, he wavered between being apologetic and still being insanely angry at the men's comments. Hotch took over from Daniel and held Chu firmly behind his back, ensuring that, despite his injury, he didn't attempt to go anywhere.

The woman was taken from the garage and into the first ambulance and Chu was placed in the second, they left the scene with a wail and it was left to the remaining policemen and crime scene investigators, collecting evidence to pin the other murders to Chu. It was obvious that it was him, there was no other option, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

A paramedic remained behind with the third ambulance and began to tend to Daniel's face. The cut was deep but hadn't hit anything serious. The blood had begun to clot and a bandage was placed over his right cheek where a scar would be certain to stand out in his handsome features.

Morgan and Rossi accompanied Chu to the hospital and JJ and Spencer went with the woman, leaving Rachel and Hotch at the scene to oversee everything, just in case. The truth was, they rotated this role, it wasn't the most interesting job in the world. There wasn't much they could do to be of help, they just had to stand around and wait patiently for their dismissal. Hotch stood by the garage, facing the ambulance and watched as Rachel walked slowly over to where Daniel was being tended to by the paramedic.

As Hotch watched he felt a stab of protection in the direction of Rachel, he knew that Daniel was a good guy, he had worked with him the past few days. But still, there was something inside of him that wanted to go over to them and drag Rachel away, even if she was kicking and screaming which she probably would have been. But it wasn't his place to, he was her mentor, he was there to advise her not make her decisions for her and control her.

Rachel approached Daniel slowly as the paramedic finished his job and Daniel was left to perch on the end of the ambulance for a few moments to await further instruction and observations. There was a splattering of blood down his shirt and he was pale but he still smiled warmly when he saw Rachel. She imagined it had to hurt his cheek and she thought she could detect a flicker of pain in his eyes but he didn't let it show.

'You're gonna have a bit of a scar there, handsome.' Rachel commented in a half awkward joke. She folded her arms and leaned against the side of the ambulance, facing him; he turned slightly to face her too.

'Yeah well, maybe it will make me look more badass.' He commented with a shrug.

'Maybe. But it could also just make you look like, super ugly.' She smiled weakly with sorrow in her eyes. 'I mean I don't think it will. I think it would take a lot more than one badass scar to mar your complete and utter perfection.'

'You flatter me.' He replied and they laughed together.

'Seriously though,' she said after a moment and she stepped forward, closer to him. 'I really am sorry for what happened. I should have been quicker in pulling my gun, hell I shouldn't have put it away in the first place since I was blocking the only other line of sight, I should have been better and then maybe…'

Daniel stood up quickly and put a finger to her lips, looking at her with a serious smile.

'Don't apologise. It wasn't your fault. It's okay.' He told her slowly but she couldn't shake the apologetic look from her eyes. He moved his hand down from her lips to brush her hair from her face and her breath caught in her throat, Hotch tried his best to remain glued to the spot.

'I can't help but feel bad about it, I mean your face…' Rachel whispered and Daniel smiled at her again, trailing his hand down through her hair and down her arm to take his hand in his. She let him hold it and held it back with a slight grip.

'If it will make you feel better, I can think of a way you can make it up to me?' Daniel suggested with a twinkle in his eyes and Rachel raised an eyebrow.

'Oh really? What's that?' She prepared herself for a joke but instead he took a deep breath and steeled himself.

'Let me take you out for dinner tonight. Nowhere fancy obviously with this face, but there's this really awesome pizza place I've been to a few times. I'd love to take you.' He asked her out and for the first time Rachel realised he was nervous and it took her aback. Rachel had never really been asked out before, she'd never really been one good for relationships, nothing had ever lasted longer than six months despite her desperate wishes for a family. But something felt different with Daniel, she'd only met him a few days before but already she felt like she knew him, she felt like she fitted with him and connected with him. She didn't believe in fate or kindred spirits or soulmates or any of that, but she felt like there was something else there with Daniel. Something indescribable.

'Yeah, I mean, I love pizza.' She grinned and Daniel grinned in return, his grip on her hand tightened a little harder and she tried to return it but found she couldn't.

'That's great. I mean as long as it's good with your boss?' Daniel asked, sneaking a glance at Hotch who was looking everywhere but at them.

'He's not my dad.' Rachel laughed slightly. 'It'll be fine.'

They sat down on the edge of ambulance together as the paramedic returned to check on Daniel and Rachel put in her limited knowledge, wishing she was as smart as Spencer. Meanwhile, Hotch watched from a distance, he didn't need to hear to know what had just been exchanged between the two of them and he couldn't explain why but his heart was beating stronger in his chest and the need to protect Rachel intensified. There was something there that he couldn't explain, something that he didn't entirely recognise, it was like he could associate the feeling with a distant memory, but that was all it was. Distant.


End file.
